Advocacy
Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed people to change the world.
In fact, it is the only thing that ever has.
Margaret Mead
In fact, it is the only thing that ever has.
Margaret Mead
SIDE-BY-SIDE Literacy Program
Side by Side is a literacy program started in January 2016 by members of CFUW - South Delta. We work one on one with children who need extra support and help focusing. Volunteers do not have to have been a teacher, as the most important thing is to provide the child with the opportunity to practise reading at his/her level with an adult. Training is provided at beginning of the year.
We work with leveled books, which are scaffolded to allow the child to progress more easily. Games are provided to help teach alphabet names and sounds, sight words and common word endings. You can volunteer for @ 2 hours per day, 1 - 5 days per week. You will always work with the same children, providing gratification seeing their progress. Each child has at least 2 - 30 minute sessions per week, preferably, but not always with the same tutor. We also have substitutes for when you are unable to attend (sick, travel..) Come and make a difference in a child's learning.
For additional information please send us an email here.
“We need to stop pretending that children can ‘be anything they want if they just follow their dreams’. Statistics show otherwise for the child who is not proficient in reading. Reading should not be offered as a pleasant adjunct to a child’s life, but an essential element in reaching for the best life possible.” ~ Walter Dean Myers
Side by Side is a literacy program started in January 2016 by members of CFUW - South Delta. We work one on one with children who need extra support and help focusing. Volunteers do not have to have been a teacher, as the most important thing is to provide the child with the opportunity to practise reading at his/her level with an adult. Training is provided at beginning of the year.
We work with leveled books, which are scaffolded to allow the child to progress more easily. Games are provided to help teach alphabet names and sounds, sight words and common word endings. You can volunteer for @ 2 hours per day, 1 - 5 days per week. You will always work with the same children, providing gratification seeing their progress. Each child has at least 2 - 30 minute sessions per week, preferably, but not always with the same tutor. We also have substitutes for when you are unable to attend (sick, travel..) Come and make a difference in a child's learning.
For additional information please send us an email here.
“We need to stop pretending that children can ‘be anything they want if they just follow their dreams’. Statistics show otherwise for the child who is not proficient in reading. Reading should not be offered as a pleasant adjunct to a child’s life, but an essential element in reaching for the best life possible.” ~ Walter Dean Myers
INDIGENOUS OUTREACH GROUP (IOG)
The CFUW - South Delta Indigenous Outreach Group (IOG) was created in Fall 2021 by a group of members to educate themselves re past and present First Nations injustices, and to learn how to become allies to the First Nations peoples. Our initial studies led us to develop a plan to help Indigenous youth, particularly those aging out of Foster Care who have not as yet achieved high school graduation. To that end, we are working as a silent partner (fundraising) with the Urban Native Youth Association (UNYA), specifically, their Youth Empowerment Fund (YEF). Since 1988, the focus of the Urban Native Youth Association (UNYA) has been to provide meaningful opportunities for Indigenous youth (Aboriginal, Metis, Inuit, First Nations, Status, Non-Status) that responds to their immediate and long-term needs. UNYA delivers over 20+ programs, and through the years they have developed a strong cadre of volunteers, staff, and community partners.
We are pleased to join in this important work. To this end, the IOG, with great support from many Club members, held two successful garage sales as fundraisers in March 2022 and April 2023. All proceeds and cash donations totalling $3000.00+ per year were sent to the UNYA Youth Empowerment Fund. Also, in 2023, the group instigated an ongoing container return-it program with proceeds going to UNYA-YEF. As an offshoot of the IOG’s return program, UNYA is now successfully running its own return program!
For additional information please email here.
The CFUW - South Delta Indigenous Outreach Group (IOG) was created in Fall 2021 by a group of members to educate themselves re past and present First Nations injustices, and to learn how to become allies to the First Nations peoples. Our initial studies led us to develop a plan to help Indigenous youth, particularly those aging out of Foster Care who have not as yet achieved high school graduation. To that end, we are working as a silent partner (fundraising) with the Urban Native Youth Association (UNYA), specifically, their Youth Empowerment Fund (YEF). Since 1988, the focus of the Urban Native Youth Association (UNYA) has been to provide meaningful opportunities for Indigenous youth (Aboriginal, Metis, Inuit, First Nations, Status, Non-Status) that responds to their immediate and long-term needs. UNYA delivers over 20+ programs, and through the years they have developed a strong cadre of volunteers, staff, and community partners.
We are pleased to join in this important work. To this end, the IOG, with great support from many Club members, held two successful garage sales as fundraisers in March 2022 and April 2023. All proceeds and cash donations totalling $3000.00+ per year were sent to the UNYA Youth Empowerment Fund. Also, in 2023, the group instigated an ongoing container return-it program with proceeds going to UNYA-YEF. As an offshoot of the IOG’s return program, UNYA is now successfully running its own return program!
For additional information please email here.
SOCIAL PLANNER
In 2012-2013, Club members researched and advocated for a Social Planner for the Municipality of Delta (now the City of Delta). This work involved meeting with local social service groups and presenting recommendations to local politicians and the Delta Council. The recommendation received community support. Eventually, in 2016, Delta hired its first Social Planner.
From "The Optimist" Letters to the editor. July 17, 2013
Editor:
Re: Strong economy, not more officials, more of a help in alleviating poverty, Publisher’s Perspective, July 10
Yes, federal and provincial governments are responsible to respond to the issues that create poverty, not municipalities. And yes, a strong economy will help alleviate poverty for many. In the meantime, many people throughout Delta need help.
That’s what we at Deltassist do. We are an important part of Delta’s social safety net, helping people deal with unexpected challenges that life sometimes throws at us.
Alleviating poverty is not the job of a social planner. A municipal social planner is not responsible for providing social services in the community. They do not focus exclusively on the vulnerable or the lower income segment of the population. They don’t manage food banks or collect toys at Christmas.
The job of a social planner is to look out for the well being of all citizens in the community. They report to council, and are responsible for knowing the people’s needs and desires. Their job is to think about the people in the community, not the buildings or streets which are already well handled by other departments.
A social planner works with social non-profits to find out how government can help them do their work, not to do the work for them. A social planner understands the mood of the community on a number of issues, from developments to facilities to knowing what sidewalks should look like so seniors can get around safely. They work on projects that enhance the lives of every person in the community, not just lower income residents.
We support the call by the Canadian Federation of University Women South Delta for a local planner in Delta.
Signed: DeltaAssist Community and Family Services.
In 2012-2013, Club members researched and advocated for a Social Planner for the Municipality of Delta (now the City of Delta). This work involved meeting with local social service groups and presenting recommendations to local politicians and the Delta Council. The recommendation received community support. Eventually, in 2016, Delta hired its first Social Planner.
From "The Optimist" Letters to the editor. July 17, 2013
Editor:
Re: Strong economy, not more officials, more of a help in alleviating poverty, Publisher’s Perspective, July 10
Yes, federal and provincial governments are responsible to respond to the issues that create poverty, not municipalities. And yes, a strong economy will help alleviate poverty for many. In the meantime, many people throughout Delta need help.
That’s what we at Deltassist do. We are an important part of Delta’s social safety net, helping people deal with unexpected challenges that life sometimes throws at us.
Alleviating poverty is not the job of a social planner. A municipal social planner is not responsible for providing social services in the community. They do not focus exclusively on the vulnerable or the lower income segment of the population. They don’t manage food banks or collect toys at Christmas.
The job of a social planner is to look out for the well being of all citizens in the community. They report to council, and are responsible for knowing the people’s needs and desires. Their job is to think about the people in the community, not the buildings or streets which are already well handled by other departments.
A social planner works with social non-profits to find out how government can help them do their work, not to do the work for them. A social planner understands the mood of the community on a number of issues, from developments to facilities to knowing what sidewalks should look like so seniors can get around safely. They work on projects that enhance the lives of every person in the community, not just lower income residents.
We support the call by the Canadian Federation of University Women South Delta for a local planner in Delta.
Signed: DeltaAssist Community and Family Services.
AZURE PLACE
In late 2015, Delta Councillor Sylvia Bishop was one of our Program speakers. She mentioned, in answer to a question, that Delta did not have a First Stage Transition shelter, i.e. a Safe House for women and children fleeing family violence. That sparked an idea among some Club Members.
We began to research “Why not?” and “How To”. We learned that Delta was the only 50,000+ population community in the Lower Mainland without a Safe House. Women in our community either had to flee to Richmond, Surrey, or further afield for safety. This did not seem at all fair to at-risk women in Delta, nor to neighbouring communities, who housed Delta’s women and children.
By mid-2016, we were well underway. We liaised and met with members of Delta Police Victim services, the Delta Municipal Council, non-profits working in the field, B.C. Housing, as well as the B.C. Minister Responsible for Housing.
All of our hours of work, as well as that of our partners and supporters, paid off! In late August 2017, Azure Place operated by W.I.N.G.S. (Women In Need Gaining Strength) Fellowship Ministries opened in Delta. It has been operating at near full capacity ever since.
We continue to support Azure Place and the women who are now, and have previously been, sheltered there. During the Holiday season, CFUW South Delta, with information supplied by Azure Place, provides hampers supplying presents for mother and children, food cards and plenty of extras to make their season a bit brighter.
In late 2015, Delta Councillor Sylvia Bishop was one of our Program speakers. She mentioned, in answer to a question, that Delta did not have a First Stage Transition shelter, i.e. a Safe House for women and children fleeing family violence. That sparked an idea among some Club Members.
We began to research “Why not?” and “How To”. We learned that Delta was the only 50,000+ population community in the Lower Mainland without a Safe House. Women in our community either had to flee to Richmond, Surrey, or further afield for safety. This did not seem at all fair to at-risk women in Delta, nor to neighbouring communities, who housed Delta’s women and children.
By mid-2016, we were well underway. We liaised and met with members of Delta Police Victim services, the Delta Municipal Council, non-profits working in the field, B.C. Housing, as well as the B.C. Minister Responsible for Housing.
All of our hours of work, as well as that of our partners and supporters, paid off! In late August 2017, Azure Place operated by W.I.N.G.S. (Women In Need Gaining Strength) Fellowship Ministries opened in Delta. It has been operating at near full capacity ever since.
We continue to support Azure Place and the women who are now, and have previously been, sheltered there. During the Holiday season, CFUW South Delta, with information supplied by Azure Place, provides hampers supplying presents for mother and children, food cards and plenty of extras to make their season a bit brighter.